Reflecting on Fr. Kapaun’s Funeral: A History Interpreter and Kansas Catholic’s Take
September 27, 2021
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How Can We “Hand the Microphone” to US Army Chaplain Fr. Emil J. Kapaun?
By Kristin Martin, Programs Director at the Museum of World Treasures
I think it is fair to say that many of us, especially those of us among the Catholic community here in Wichita, are at a loss for words. How can we adequately describe our feelings regarding the return to Wichita of Medal of Honor recipient, Kansas native, and military chaplain Father Emil Kapaun? Or, perhaps the problem is that so many words have already been shared about Fr. Kapaun. I sit here at my computer wondering if I can add anything of worth to the effusion of heartfelt accounts written about the events of this week.
I am writing this today speaking from where I am: a Kansan among proud Kansans, a museum professional among fascinated history enthusiasts, and a Catholic among stunned Catholics. For the first time in my nine years of museum work, I am faced with the opportunity to personally experience and interpret an event that is deeply personal to me. Fr. Emil Kapaun’s return to Wichita is not only historically relevant to me as a Kansan but touching to me as a Catholic in a way that words cannot adequately describe. It is my hope that by drawing attention to the return of Fr. Emil Kapaun’s remains to Kansas that I can encourage all of us, whether or not we are people of faith, to pause and take a chance ponder what this moment means.
The remains of Father Emil Kapaun are brought out from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Tuesday. Kapaun, a Medal of Honor recipient who died in a North Korean POW camp in 1951, will now begin his journey back to Kansas. TRAVIS HEYING THE WICHITA EAGLE
A Quick Recap of Fr. Emil Kapaun’s Life and Legacy
Fr. Emil Kapaun, a Pilsen, Kansas native, was a Roman Catholic priest and a US Army Chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. This excerpt is taken from his Medal of Honor citation: “Shortly after his capture, Chaplain Kapaun, with complete disregard for his personal safety and unwavering resolve, bravely pushed aside an enemy soldier preparing to execute Sergeant First Class Herbert A. Miller.” Miller survived the war and lived to tell of how Fr. Kapaun carried him 100 miles to the prison camp. Many others who came to know him at the time survived as well including Col. Mike Dowe who used the story of Fr. Kapaun to help formulate the US Armed Forces Code of Conduct under the Eisenhower Commission.
“…By instilling loyalty to God, county, and each other the POW not only becomes a problem for the enemy but enhances his own chances of survival. The example of Father’s work and life in the camp became the basis of today’s Code of Conduct for our Armed Forces. So whether people knew his name or not, Father has been shaping the character of service members in all the branches of our armed forces for the past 70 years. I hope after today, many more people will now know his name. And the character of this amazing, saintly man that I have the pleasure of calling my friend, whom I look forward to seeing in heaven. My friend United States Army Chaplain Father Emil Joseph Kapaun.”
Col. Mike Dowe, Korean War POW in a statement read at Fr. Emil Kapaun’s Funeral, September 29, 2021*
In May 1951, Chaplain Kapaun died at the hands of Chinese Communists in a prisoner-of-war camp after months of starvation and illness. He was declared a “Servant of God” in 1993. This was the first in four steps that could lead to his canonization as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Then, in 2013, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor**.
Against all odds in March 2021 it was announced that his remains had been positively identified and would be returned to his family. On September 25, 2021, his remains landed in Wichita. Following his funeral on Wednesday, September 29th, his remains were interred at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception here in Wichita. (To learn more about Father Kapaun’s life and legacy, see links at the end of this article.)
Reflecting on Honoring Military Heroes as a Museum History Interpreter
My reflection here is grounded in my training and observations as an educator at the Museum of World Treasures and colored by my life as a Catholic. (My passion is taking historical stories and old items and “interpreting” these bits together into deep, meaningful stories.)
Being a historical interpreter has become a part of the fabric of who I am so when I attend an event like Fr. Kapaun’s funeral, I am filled with the urge to experience as much of the history as possible. I literally snuck into the final part of the ceremony that was supposed to be only for priests and family, the part of the funeral where Fr. Kapaun was entombed. I had this burning need to be there, to experience the history so I could write about it and talk about it in the future. This normally not-very-bold nerdy gal got in line where she didn’t belong just to touch and pray over the casket of this potential future saint. I needed to have the words and pictures and experiences to make this particular story stick in your head. This is what we history educators do.
Fr. Emil Kapaun is entombed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, September 29, 2021, Photo Credit: Kristin Martin
And each new opportunity to make a new story stick changes my understanding of what makes stories galvanize us.
As I see all of the ceremony rightly shown in honor of Fr. Kapaun, I am reminded of my experiences with veterans during my time here at the Museum. I’ve worked directly with veterans who served in World War II all the way up until the present day, facilitating their interactions with Museum patrons through one-on-one meetings, lectures, and panels. I’ve been blessed to meet a Dr. Don Jackson, a Tuskegee Airman and Col. Gail Halvorsen, the famed “Candy Bomber” of the Berlin Airlift.
“The Candy Bomber” Col. Gail Halvorsen and Programs Director Kristin Martin pictured in the Museum’s All Are Not Free exhibit during the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association’s Annual Reunion, hosted in Wichita in late September 2019. Photo Credit: Museum of World Treasures
One small experience I had about five years ago starkly portrays the importance of the time we take to dig in and draw out the stories of military heroes. I once called a man who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. I was asking him to come participate in an event where he would interact with children and tell his story. Right there on the phone, he refused to come in and share his experiences because “he hadn’t done enough” and “no one would want to hear his story.” As you can guess, my heart broke at that moment as I thought of all the men and women who suffer in silence, holding in their stories of what they saw during war.
If I have learned anything from working with veterans, active military personnel, and war zone survivors, it is that it isn’t enough that these men and women fought and gave their all. As I attended Fr. Kapaun’s funeral yesterday, I thought that it wasn’t enough for me to watch and hear the event in that moment. I thought to myself: I need to be the history interpreter and step up, hand Fr. Kapaun the microphone, and then get out of the way.
As wave after wave of historical accounts about Father Emil Kapaun hit me like a tsunami this week, it occurred to me that I am unable to hand the microphone to Father Kapaun. He is not alive to speak about what he saw and experienced. However, his bones are now here among the Kansans he loved so much. His fellow POWs still passionately speak about his life.
The crushing love poured out for this man that most have never met feels overwhelming. I’m sitting here in a museum and thinking about my task of amplifying the history and humanity around me. As I pour myself into making sense of events, I wonder: how I can best honor the legacy of this Medal of Honor recipient and holy man who is now in our midst? Of course, the answer is that I must get his story out to you and ask you to ponder what his life means to you as a Kansan or as an American or as a person of faith.
Stop and Ponder
So: what is it about this man that has drawn out such deeply passionate devotion?
A crushing press of onlookers watch as Fr. Emil Kapaun’s casket is carried into the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, KS, September 29, 2021. Photo Credit: Kristin Martin
How do these things happen right here in Kansas? What is it about the sacrifices of those that give their lives in the line of duty that causes us to stop and stand in awe at the mere sight of an honor guard and flag draped coffin? What is it about the service of a priest devoted to serving his spiritual sons to the bitter end, even in the face of nearly certain death, that moves us at the deepest levels?
As Medal of Honor recipient, potential saint of the Catholic Church, and Kansas son Fr. Emil Kapaun is laid to rest at long last in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita this week, I encourage you to take time to reflect on this piece of history that originated on Kansas soil. What bits of Fr. Kapaun’s iron resolve can weld into your soul? Into the lives of the ministers and military service members around you? How can you save this bit of this awe that we all share right now so that you can pass it on to your children and grandchildren in the future?
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*Rev. Matthew Pawlikowski Reads a Statement from Korean War POW Col. Mike Dowe in which he recounts his firsthand experiences with Fr. Emil Kapaun and how Fr. Emil Kapaun’s actions influenced POW Code of Conduct for the US Military
**President Obama Awards Chaplain Emil Kapaun the Medal of Honor, April 11, 2013
